Instagram Posts from the Week of July 14, 2019

Headlines and History - July 14, 2019

In continuing with connecting the past and the present on Sundays, it is time for another installment of Headlines and History.

In July 2013, headlines heralded the news of female inmates in California being improperly sterilized. In an article by Bill Chappell for NPR titled “California's Prison Sterilizations Reportedly Echo Eugenics Era,” I read about Kimberly Jeffrey. “Former inmate Kimberly Jeffrey, 43, tells Johnson she resisted the pressure to get a tubal ligation done — pressure that she says came while she was under sedation and strapped to an operating table. ‘Being treated like I was less than human produced in me a despair,’ Jeffrey says.”

A quick search for the history of sterilization of women in the United States yields over four million results. I read the blog post “Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States” by Lisa Ko for PBS, which led me to data published by Lutz Kaelber, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Vermont. I was shocked by the statistics for South Carolina.

Our present is intertwined with and informed by our past. We must face the past so we can heal the future. 

*Edited to add: On June 17, 2020, I came across The Redemption Project with Van Jones for CNN. I read the words, “Face the past. Heal the future.” I will no longer use this phrase for my Headlines and History posts beginning in June 2020.

#forcedsterilization #eugenics #thehistoryofeugenics #loveyourneighbor #seekjustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #ejicalendar #facethepast #healthefuture #headlinesandhistory #historyandheadlines #broadeningthenarrative 


Podcast Rec - July 16, 2019

It’s podcast rec day!

Past Listen- Truth's Table: The Kids are NOT Alright! (released July 14, 2018)

"Where we are right now, many of us predicted this November 2016… It was a matter of if we were willing to sacrifice that particular neighbor. We made a decision that we didn’t care about brown children... We heard the first speech, y’all. The first speech out of the now President’s mouth denigrated brown people. He came out swinging... Yet people moved forward and said, ‘I’m willing to take that risk.’" -Dr. Christina Edmondson

I am thankful for the prophetic voices of Ekemini Uwan, Dr. Christina Edmondson, and Michelle Higgins of Truth's Table. Subscribe to the Truth’s Table podcast and support the work of these women.

What is the podcast you recommend the most? 

#truthstable #antiracism #podcast #podcastrecommendation #immigration #justice #propheticvoices #seekjustice #lovemercy #walkhumbly #broadeningthenarrative



Account to Follow - July 17, 2019

It’s Wednesday, so I will highlight an account I follow.

I posted about Truth’s Table yesterday when I recommended an episode from this convicting and gracious podcast. The women of Truth’s Table are Michelle Higgins, Ekemini Uwan, and Dr. Christina Edmondson. They do not mince words, but they do deliver rebukes in love. They address a variety of topics that are informed by their Christian faith. I am grateful for the standing room that allows me to listen to the wisdom of the women of Truth’s Table.

I had the joy and privilege of meeting Michelle Higgins, Ekemini Uwan, and Dr. Christina Edmondson last October when I attended the Live Podcast Recording at Christ Central Church in Charlotte, NC. They are beautiful and brilliant women who overflowed with kindness and compassion.

Follow @truthstable if you aren’t already, and become a patron through Patreon to financially support the work of Michelle Higgins, Ekemini Uwan, and Dr. Christina Edmondson.

#truthstable #podcast #graceandtruth #challengethenarrative #tellthetruth #thefulltruth #andnothingbutthetruth #supportblackwomen #believeblackwomen #broadeningthenarrative 



Additional Rec - July 18, 2019

Since it is Thursday, this post will be about an additional recommendation I found beneficial on my journey in broadening the narrative.

Being educated through Be the Bridge, as well as other organizations and individuals, has increased my awareness and knowledge regarding the truth about the history of indigenous people in the United States. I am committed to a lifetime of learning how to better love my indigenous neighbors. 

The U.S. Department of Arts and Culture posted convicting and compelling words in their “Honor Native Land: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgment.” 

There is not a lack of resources for educating ourselves about past and present realities and injustices. May we live justly in response. 

#acknowledgenativeland #honornativeland #indigenouspeoplearestillhere #justice #challengethenarrative #truthandreconciliation #tellthetruth #thefulltruth #andnothingbutthetruth #repent #repair #bethebridge #beabridgebuilder #broadeningthenarrative



Book Rec - July 20, 2019

It’s book post day!  

Current Read- The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

"The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land" (De Bois, 1903, p. 6).

The Souls of Black Folk is enlightening and haunting. I hesitate to say more for fear of centering myself. Thank you to my friend Greg Singleton for recommending this book.

What are you reading? 

#currentread #thesoulsofblackfolk #bookrecommendation #webdubois #blackauthor #blacknonfiction #blackhistory #history #reading #learning #broadeningthenarrative